in the southern zone of rio de janeiro, in the gávea district lies the instituto moreira salles, founded by walter moreira salles in 1990, a non-profit organization and private cultural institute focuses on photography, literature, visual arts and brazilian music.

in the neighborhood of ipanema, is the casa da cultura laura alvim, a beach-front property which is museum, gallery, cinema, and theatre, all rolled into one.

set back a few blocks from the beach in ipanema is toca do vinícius, a bossa nova lover's delight, with a shop on the ground floor. upstairs there is a small museum dedicated to the songwriter and poet vinícius de moraes, and a monthly bossa/samba concert.

within the flamengo neighborhood resides the casa da arte e cultura julieta serpa, a mansion that was built over 80 years ago, as a residence for the son of a wealthy merchant - carlos alberto de oliveira serpa converted the estate into a cultural centre in 2002 and has been beautifully restored and much of the original architecture has been kept.